Opening, Keynote, Scene Setting

Catalysing Finance and Impact for Food Systems

Multilateral and geopolitical dynamics

Background

The 2025 Annual General Assembly (AGA) which will take place on Friday 12 December 2025 on the European Commission premises in Brussels, Belgium.

The AGA is the Donor Platform’s flagship event, bringing together members, partners and experts to exchange knowledge, shape strategic priorities and collaborate on advancing sustainable agriculture and rural development.

This year, participants and panellists are invited to collectively reflect on and develop approaches to financing for food systems in this unpredictable global context, under the theme: “Investing in the Future of Agrifood Systems: New Directions for Development Finance.”

The GDPRD Secretariat and the European Commission look forward to welcoming you to the AGA 2025.

Moderator: Jim Woodhill, Senior Advisor, GDPRD

Agenda
8:15–9:00	Registration
9:00-9:20	Welcome and Opening Remarks Bruce Campbell, GDPRD co-Chair; Senior Policy Advisor, Food Systems Section, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and Focal Point, SDC Agriculture and Food Systems Network, Switzerland Federica de Gaetano, GDPRD co-Chair; Food Security and Rural Development Expert, Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS)
9:20-9:35	Keynote Address Prioritizing agrifood systems amid upheaval in development finance Alexander Müller, Founder and Managing Director, TMG Think Tank and former Deputy Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
9:35-9:50	Donor Coordination and Multilateralism in Agrifood Systems Financing GDPRD High-Level Advisory Group and White Paper Aligning strategies and strengthening coherent agrifood financing mechanisms Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit, Sustainable Agri-Food Systems and Fisheries, Directorate-General for International Partnerships, European Commission Max von Bonsdorff, Chief Partnership Officer, Global and Multilateral Engagement, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
9:50-11:20	High-Level Discussion Panel Evolving roles in a fragmented aid landscape: Navigating ODA reductions and financial reforms, expanding private sector engagement, and building effective collaborative financing mechanisms Máximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist, FAO Carlo Batori, Deputy Director-General, Directorate General for Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director, GAIN Alice Ruhweza, President, AGRA Tom Arnold, Chair, IARDC Stefania Lenoci, World Bank Group Resident Representative to Italy
11:20-11:45	Coffee break
11:45-13:00	Catalysing Finance and Impact for Agrifood Systems Strengthening coordination among private sector, development finance, and government actors at the country level Tim Diphoorn, One Acre Fund Rodrigo Madrazo, CEO, EDFI Management Company Songbae Lee, Independent Advisor and former Agricultural Finance Team Lead, USAID Ambassador Khusrav Noziri, Assistant Director General, Islamic Organisation for Food Security (IOFS) Alexandre Rutikanga, Chief Technical Advisor, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI), Republic of Rwanda; UN Food Systems Member State National Dialogue Convenor
13:00-14:30	Lunch
14:30-15:30	The Future of Youth in Agrifood Systems Joint session by the Land and Rural Youth Working Groups Ward Anseeuw, FAO Elisabetta Cangelosi, Gender Justice Advisor, International Land Coalition (ILC) Evance Ochola, YPARD / Nutrika / YGAK John F. Kelvin, Fellow of the International Land Coalition young leadership program Marcos Montoiro, UNCCD
15:30-15:45	Coffee break
15:45–17:15	Multilateral and Geopolitical Dynamics of Agrifood Systems Financing Outcomes from 2025: Key policy developments, summit commitments, and financing trends Priorities for 2026 Nikita Eriksen-Hamel, Global Affairs Canada Anas A. Al-Nabulsi, CFS Chair Sandra Bartelt, Principal Adviser for G7 and G20 Sustainable Development Agendas, European Commission, Directorate-General for International Partnerships Clara Albergaria Pacheco, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs
17:15–17:30	Closing Session Maurizio Navarra, Senior Partnership Officer/GDPRD Secretariat Coordinator Jim Woodhill, GDPRD Bruce Campbell, GDPRD Federica de Gaetano, GDPRD

Why you should attend

Identify catalytic financing approaches that enable donors and Public Development Banks (PDBs) to scale systemic transformation in food systems.
Engage in an interactive, forward-looking dialogue on how to sustain and expand financing for food systems amid crises and declining development budgets.
Collaborate across the thematic areas of rural youth employment and land governance in a joint session that connects insights and priorities across sectors.
Assess the implications of major 2025 global events and platforms for the future of food systems finance and the collective donor agenda.
Network and build partnerships with leaders, experts and peers.

This year’s AGA will build on the 2024 theme of “Financing Food Systems Transformation and Rural Revitalization: Opportunities and Challenges” and GDPRD’s June 2025 White Paper, “Financing Agrifood Systems for People, Planet and Prosperity”, which calls for a major scale-up in investments and fundamental changes in how donors, governments, IFIs, private investors, and agrifood firms align their efforts.

Whether you join us in person in Brussels or virtually from anywhere in the world, your participation and perspectives will be invaluable in shaping forward-looking approaches to development finance and rural development. Please register now to confirm your participation. For in-person attendance, kindly register before Friday, 5 December.

Annual General Assembly 2025

Investing in the Future of Agrifood Systems: New directions for development finance

Links

Register

AGA Agenda and Speakers

AGA Speaker Bios

AGA Concept Note

AGA 2025 Sessions

Opening, Keynote, Scene Setting

High-Level Discussion Panel

Catalysing Finance and Impact for Food Systems

Thematic Session

Multilateral and geopolitical dynamics

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Explore the 2024 AGA

Background

The GDPRD Secretariat and the European Commission look forward to welcoming you to the AGA 2025.

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